Creighton's one-act season came to an end Tuesday during the Class C2-3 district.
The Bulldogs finished runner-up in competition with Hartington claiming the championship and qualifying for state. Top acting honors for Creighton were awarded to Garrison Hazen, Brienne Fanta, Theodore Tauber, Austin Christiansen, Zachary Hazen and Julius Tauber. On Monday, Creighton hosted its annual Christmas kickoff with a variety of activities.
Children had the opportunity to visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus, write letters to Santa and watch the lighting of the Christmas tree at the Creighton Public Library. Trolley rides were also offered after the tree lighting. The rides went downtown and through SantaLand. When one thinks of the holiday season, they think snow, lights and cheer. All of that comes together every year in beautiful fashion in SantaLand.
Since 1995, thousands of visitors have made the trip through SantaLand in Creighton's Bruce Park to admire the various displays and to visit Santa's Workshop. However, the popular Knox County attraction goes back another 10 years. Ernie and Sharon Christensen started the SantaLand attraction on their home farm in 1985 before opening Santa's Workshop in 1987. Ernie built the elves for the shop and acted as Santa while Sharon designed outfits for the elves and acted as Mrs. Claus. Eventually, the attraction grew too large for the Christensens to maintain themselves. That's when the City of Creighton stepped in and brought the attraction to Bruce Park. Over the years, the attraction grew thanks to acquisitions from various area Christmas enthusiasts. Eventually, local clubs such as the Creighton FFA and FCCLA joined in to help decorate and expand the attraction. Now, the attraction lights up the whole park while visitors drive through to see the penguins on ice, the Grinch, the Night Before Christmas and various other displays set up by the Creighton community. Possibly the most popular attraction, however, is Santa's Workshop. Built in 1998 in it's current form, Santa's Workshop offers a chance for children to visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus and give their requests for their Christmas gifts. Members of the Creighton Chamber of Commerce sponsor refreshments at the workshop for visitors. The workshop now features 16 elves and a train that circles the elves while they work away in preparation for Christmas morning. SantaLand is now open until December 31. It is in full operation from 6 p.m. until 10 p.m. Santa's Workshop is open each year from December 1 until December 23 from 6 p.m. through 9 p.m. Creighton's annual Christmas kickoff is set for Monday, Nov. 28, at 5:30 p.m.
Stop by the Creighton Public Library for the lighting of the Christmas tree, visit Santa and Mrs. Claus, write your letters to Santa and snack on a cookie. Trolley rides will follow the lighting of the tree down Main Street and through Santaland. Enjoy some hot cocoa around the fire at Santaland. Finish off the evening by shopping at the local businesses. Avera Creighton Hospital has released its December Calendar. For an appointment call 402-358-5700. Click here to view the calendar. In front of a massive crowd, Creighton fought all night for their first trip to the state finals since 2010. There opponent that year in the finals was Guardian Angels Central Catholic, who topped them 45-30. Unfortunately for Creighton, they took on the Bluejays again on Monday night with a similar result.
The Bulldogs fell to GACC in a close one, 48-44. Creighton started off the night in explosive fashion, with Bryce Zimmerer and Ryan Neumann scoring on runs of 56 and 47 yards, respectively, within the first few minutes of the game. They added two takeaways in the first quarter as well to hold the Bluejays at bay and take a 16-0 lead into the second quarter. In the second, it didn't take long for GACC to find the end zone as they scored less than three minutes into the quarter. Creighton responded with a 66 yard reception from Neumann to the versatile, 250 pound Sam Morrill, a play in which he took a short pass and broke numerous tackles before out racing the defense to the end zone. That big play gave the Bulldogs a 24-8 lead and it looked as if they were preparing to run away with the game before the Bluejays took over. GACC connected on two deep touchdown passes and a bad snap out of the end zone gave them a safety to jump out to a 26-24 lead halfway through the second quarter. The Bluejays added one more score just before half to push their lead to 32-24 at the break. In the third quarter, both squads move up and down the field with relative ease, but neither was able to punch it in. That led to a fourth quarter that was full of fireworks. GACC connected on yet another deep toss to push their lead to 40-24. However, the Bulldogs showed no quit, responding just over a minute later on a Zimmerer dive to narrow the gap to 40-32. A few plays later, Noah Lilly picked off GACC quarterback Noah Plagge and Neumann followed that up by taking the ball 29 yards for the score. However, a missed two-point conversion left the Bulldogs behind 40-38. The Bluejays immediately drove down the field and scored on a short run before Neumann connected on one final touchdown to bring the Bulldogs within four. Unfortunately, they were unable to recover the onside kick and GACC was able to run out the clock to advance to the state finals. Creighton's season ended at 10-2. They averaged an amazing 68 points per game while giving up just 23 per game. Everyone is invited to the Creighton Public Library on Friday to help support the library.
The library will be hosting a bake sale on Friday, November 18 from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. There will be coffee and baked goods throughout the event. All proceeds will go to the Creighton Library Foundation. Creighton is gearing up for the holidays with itss annual Holiday Fair and Soup & Tavern Luncheon.
The event will be held at St. Ludger's Social Hall on November 19 from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m and will feature a large variety of vendors. L to R Back: Bob Jensen (Council Member), Megan Hanefeldt (Knox County Economic Development Director), MaryAnne Block (Council Member), Mike Nutting (Council Member), Brent Eggerling (Chairperson Economic Development Board). L to R Front Row Drew Nelson (Council President), Abigail Frank (Creighton Economic Development Director), Chris Patrick (Mayor), Dr. Jessica Sanborn (Economic Development Board Member). The City of Creighton became the first Knox County community to be designated a Leadership Certified Community.
On Thursday night during the City Council meeting, the Department of Economic Development (DED) recognized Creighton with the recognition. DED Field Service Manager Sheryl Hiatt honored community leaders. Creighton is the 17th Nebraska community to qualify for DED’s Leadership Certified Community Program (LCC), created in 2011 to help smaller Nebraska communities adapt to ongoing changes and opportunities in economic development. Qualifying communities must demonstrate an understanding for and preparedness in strategic and community planning, as well as display readiness in technological development to help new and existing businesses grow. Certified communities earn designation in the program for five years and are required to update and maintain information and websites. "I could not be more pleased to work with Abigail and the Creighton community on the Leadership Designation,” said Megan Hanefeldt, Executive Director of Knox County Development Agency (KCDA). “It's wonderful to see the great work going on in Creighton from the inside out. The community of Creighton should be proud of all their accomplishments and continue to strive to work together to build a strong, solid community.” Abigail Frank, Creighton Economic Development Director, appreciates the support she has received, “this application process would not have been made possible without the support of the Creighton Economic Development Board, the assistance of Lowell Schroeder, Community Planner with Northeast Nebraska Economic Development District, Megan Hanefeldt, Knox County Director, Nicole Sedlacek with NPPD, City of Creighton staff and City Council members. Sheryl Hiatt and Kelly Gewecke, of DED, have been a great assistance when a question was asked or with clarification of the leadership application. I highly recommend Economic Development Directors new in the field take on the challenge of learning every dynamic of their communities. The application process was eye opening in the aspect of community involvement and the amount of participation it takes to be on boards and volunteer time towards events. The application process helped with further developing Creighton's strategic plan and opportunity to learn about partnerships across Northeast Nebraska and throughout the state.” The City of Creighton is currently working on submitting Phase II application for a Community Development Block Grant Downtown Revitalization grant. Earlier this year they completed a planning phase which was estimated at $39,300. If awarded the Phase II grant, the total project cost will be approximately $455,000. A lot of growth has happened in the past year for various businesses and industries.
Over the past two years some improvements have been made to the Creighton’s city office. A new finance software system has been implemented in the city office, two new offices were renovated, and insulation was installed in the city shop. Currently the city is undergoing a Sanitary Sewer Improvements Project. The study included the drainage issues Creighton has been experiencing. The project is estimated to cost $752,221.50. This project will be completed by July 2017 with Midlands Contracting doing the work. This past summer thirty city blocks were updated with armor coating. The project was completed by Figgins Construction Co. for $49,439. This will help maintain the streets. Creighton residents will soon see brand new street signs around town. This project has been budgeted for $20,000. Informational meetings and discussion of LB 840 have begun. DED field staff consultant Deb Eggleston was present last month to facilitate this meeting. The good news for Lourdes Central Catholic on Tuesday night was they were able to find a way to score on the Creighton defense, something no team has been able to do much of all year.
The bad news for Lourdes Central Catholic was that Creighton's high-octane offense was able to score nearly twice as much. The Bulldogs ran away with a 90-54 win over the Knights Tuesday night to advance to the semifinals of the Class D1 State Playoffs. The two teams started the scoring early and neither team was able to dig in much on defense. Quarterback Ryan Neumann accounted for three first half passing touchdowns to lead the Bulldogs to a 36-22 lead at halftime. He ended the night accounting for seven total touchdowns. Neumann was far from the only Bulldog to record a big night, however. Running back Bryce Zimmerer recorded arguably his best performance of the year, racking up more than 350 yards and 5 touchdowns. The Bulldogs advance to a semifinal showdown with Guardian Angels Central Catholic for the opportunity to earn a spot in the 2016 state championship game. The game will likely be played in Beemer and will be next Monday. Game time is yet to be announced. |